Latest news with #NoelMcNamara
Irish Examiner
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ireland U20s in wooden spoon battle, but relegation trapdoor may shut
The scale of Ireland's 69-22 hammering by New Zealand on Wednesday evening has meant Neil Doak's side now go into the lower tier to see who finishes bottom of the World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy. But even if Ireland finish bottom — they play Scotland with the loser facing either Georgia or Spain — they are unlikely to be relegated as World Rugby proposes increasing this tournament from 12 to 16 teams in 2026. Ireland have played in every one of the 15 tournaments since this grade started in 2008, twice finishing runners-up, but they have been in this position before and came close to being relegated to the U20 World Trophy in 2018 with a management team headed by Noel McNamara and which also included current interim senior Ireland coach Paul O'Connell. Back then they were pushed all the way before seeing off Japan 39-33 in the relegation final in Beziers with a side which included current Irish captain Caelan Doris and other future internationals such as Dan Sheehan, Harry Byrne, and a duo, Tommy O'Brien and Jack Aungier, who made their senior bows in Georgia last weekend. That 2018 team finished mid-table with 12 points in that season's Six Nations with wins over Scotland and Italy, while the current crop were bottom this year with just six points and one win over Scotland, a 33-15 victory in Edinburgh. The scale of the loss to New Zealand saw Ireland finish below Wales and Italy on points difference and drop to the third tier of play-off games. They will now face Scotland in Verona on Monday (5pm Irish time) where a win will see them bid for ninth place the following Saturday and a loss will see them in a battle to avoid the wooden spoon of a tournament where they were semi-finalists last year and runners-up the previous season. Captain Éanna McCarthy, who has done extremely well to front up after the losses, said they can take a lot of positives from Wednesday's loss, not least the way they took the game initially to the Junior All Blacks and built a 12-0 lead. 'There are a lot of learnings from that but we can take energy from the first 20 minutes,' said the Connacht academy player from Cork. 'There are not many teams that can do that to an All Blacks side. We can take the learnings and the positives out of it as well."
Irish Times
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Kerry woman who swapped RTÉ for Bordeaux: ‘Their way of life is not just about making money – they work to live and have family time'
From Sneem in Co Kerry, Sinead Harrington has a degree from UCC and University of Limerick and a recent diploma in journalism and content creation. She and her husband, leading rugby coach Noel McNamara, and their three daughters have been living in Bordeaux for the past two years in a small village half an hour's drive from the city called Gradignan on the river Eau Bourde with 20 public parks and surrounded by woodland. 'I grew up in a small village and wanted the girls to experience the same village life in France and Gradignan was the perfect compromise as it suits Noel's work,' she explains. Their life to date has been peripatetic, one she describes as a rollercoaster. 'After school I moved to Cork and then Dublin for work originally for RTÉ. Noel, who is from Clare, was working in Clongowes as a rugby coach and we moved to Clane in Kildare where all our three daughters were born. READ MORE 'He became a head coach for the U20s in UCD and was working for Leinster when an amazing opportunity arose for him in New Zealand for four months, part of the coaching team for North Harbour. 'So I took a leave of absence from RTÉ where I was working in press and publicity and loved the people and the creativity.' After the four months were up, they moved back to Ireland – Noel to work with Leinster and Sinead returning to RTÉ in 2018. 'And then he got this wonderful opportunity to go to Ballito in South Africa, about 40 kilometres from Durban as a coach for the Sharks and we lived apart for five months. 'I stayed at home with the girls – the youngest was only a baby – and we missed each other terribly. So I took a career break from RTÉ and went to South Africa and we lived there for the guts of two years where I did some freelance work as I hate to be idle.' At the time she assumed they would be returning to Ireland. Instead, Noel got a call to move to Bordeaux as a coach for UBB (Union Bordeaux Bègles) and once again they moved. 'We live in an old French house smack bang in the middle of the village, a stone's throw from the children's public school. The first few months were incredibly difficult – I don't know who cried more, me or them. 'Now they are fluent in French and have completely embraced French culture and are involved in theatre, ballet, horse riding and tennis and are very much part of the community. I, however, still can't speak French fluently, but I am trying my best. I find it peaceful here and my two eldest kids can run errands on their own, which gives them a great sense of independence. We cycle everywhere.' Living abroad has enhanced her sense of pride in being Irish. 'I've spoken more Irish since we've moved – it's like a wonderful secret language because nobody here knows it or knows what you are saying,' she says with a laugh. As for UBB fans 'they are a different species and the level of support – win, lose or draw – is second to none. 'It's very special to be part of it. It is the best supported club in Europe in terms of the average attendance and there is no such thing as elitism -in the stadium everyone is equal. They love their rugby, though it is a long and tough season.' She has since set up her own public relations agency. 'I am really fortunate in that it happened organically after people approached me to see if I could work on campaigns for different businesses and it grew from there. I now have clients in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands and keep the client list small so I can give them as much attention as they deserve. 'My priorities are my girls, but I have the luxury of being able to work around their school hours. School is from. 8.35-4.45 and they are fed at school and have Wednesday off for extracurricular activities such as tennis, theatre and ballet.' The disadvantages of living in France are 'an awful lot of bureaucracy and it can slow you down. A lot is tied up in red tape and once you get used to it, it's a different view of how life should be lived. 'There is a set time for breakfast, lunch and dinner and don't even think about going into a restaurant between those times. They stop serving at 2pm and talk about croissants the way we talk about weather. 'The butcher operates from 8am-12.30 and from 2.30-4pm and it's the same with vegetable and patisserie shops. In medical care, everything is much more accessible. Their way of life is not just about making money – they work to live and have family time – they don't live to work.' She loves Bordeaux. 'It's such a beautiful city with so much history and it's not that big. We are an hour from the Cap Ferrat seaside resort with swimming, surfing and beautiful beach and Arcachon with its famous sand dune, the biggest in France, and on the other side St Emilion, which is like Disneyland. A trip to Spain is two hours away, so you are spoiled for choice.' The biggest disadvantage is missing home and being away from family and friends. 'I've missed birthdays, Mother's and Father's Day, celebrations and funerals – and that does bother me. I don't know if I am adaptable, resilient or in shock from all the moves! 'I'd love to be able to hop in a car and see my parents. We have another two years here and I try to live in the moment and not think too far ahead. But I'm lucky because Bordeaux isn't too far away from Ireland compared to South Africa and I do get to go home quite a lot, but wherever I am in the world, I know I'm at my happiest with my girls and Noel.'
Irish Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
How can the provinces break France's dominance?
Gerry Thornley joins the latest episode of The Counter Ruck fresh off his trip to Cardiff to watch the Champions Cup final. He breaks down the future landscape for free-to-air rugby in Ireland, analyses France's domination of the Champions Cup, looks at the chances of Noel McNamara returning home and more. Alongside host Nathan Johns, talk also turns to injuries ahead of the provincial run in the URC knockouts, and the importance of Leinster lifting the domestic trophy at the end of the campaign. Produced by John Casey.
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Why Leinster now have to win the URC
This weekend was a quiet one for Irish rugby, with no provincial involvement in the Champions Cup final. Still, plenty of intriguing storylines emerged; Noel McNamara's triumph, Henry Pollock's return back to Earth plus the curious level of antipathy towards this game in Ireland. Gordon D'Arcy joins Nathan Johns to discuss rugby's place in the sporting calendar, how important it is that Leinster win the URC this year, the mentality of winning and losing as well as the newly announced Club World Cup set for 2028. Produced by John Casey.
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Noel McNamara and Bordeaux discover what doesn't break you can make you stronger
If it doesn't break you, it can make you, the saying goes, and certainly it was the kind of experience that might have broken lesser teams . They strained every sinew in reaching their first final last June only to be beaten 59-3 by Toulouse in the biggest game of their history, an embarrassment which lingered throughout last summer and beyond. The only way of fully exorcising the demons from the most one-sided final in the 133-year history of the French Championship was to lift silverware and it tells us much about Bordeaux Bègles as a club and a team that, having dethroned Toulouse in the semi-finals with a third victory over them this season, they have done just that by winning their first Champions Cup . 'There's absolutely no doubt about it, it was catastrophic; it was a nightmare,' agreed their attack coach Noel McNamara in the aftermath of UBB making more positive history. 'Everything that could go wrong went wrong,' he said, stating that 'the healing started' with an opening day win over Stade Francais. READ MORE [ The inside story of how Terenure signed Carlos Spencer as a coach Opens in new window ] 'But ultimately, it was about getting to a final and getting over the line because as it goes on pressure builds a little bit more and if we didn't get over the line today pressure builds a little more again.' A key learning and factor here was ensuring the squad was fresher at the business end of the season and McNamara cited the summer acquisition of Jonny Gray, Joey Carbery and Rohan Janse van Rensburg, even though only the latter played here and for eight minutes at that. 'I do think we did learn from that final. It is a scar but often scar tissue can be stronger and I think we showed a lot of character as well.' Union Bordeaux-Begles assistant coach Noel McNamara. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho From Clare to Here, you could write a song about it. It's a road less travelled but McNamara is the only Irish coach thus far this season to be a champion. On an increasingly impressive CV this looks like the highlight to date, but McNamara told The Irish Times: 'I've always had the same sensation regardless of whether it was winning the schools Cup with Clongowes or whether it was winning a Grand Slam with the Irish 20s, it's a sense of relief. 'You think very quickly about the people that have helped you to get to this point and at the final whistle I thought about my family and the sacrifices that they have made, and I hope that it repays some of the faith that they've shown in me.' As well as his wife Sinead and their three young daughters Iseult, Aarya and Portia, McNamara's two sisters Joanne Hickey and Edel O'Connor, and her son Sebastian, were among the Principality crowd. Union Bordeaux-Begles' assistant coach Noel McNamara and family. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho 'But, honestly, it's a sense of relief and your mind quickly switches to the next challenge,' he continued. 'The journey for me is genuinely more enjoyable than the destination and I don't coach for days like this, I coach because I love coaching. I love helping people get better, building a collective together and that's what I hope to continue to do.' Having signed on for another two years, he couldn't be in a better place right now. 'This is very special. You grow up watching this competition, it holds a really special place in Irish people's hearts. I think for me it's about that feeling of belonging. I think that's what it always has been for Irish teams, they want to belong and be able to compete against the best teams in Europe and for us it was no different. We wanted to belong, to show that we deserved to be here and that it was on merit.' Carbery, while happy, understandably didn't look entirely content amid the post-match celebrations after missing out on the match day 23. But this was his second well-earned Champions Cup winners' medal. While an unused sub in Leinster's win over Racing 92 in Bilbao in 2018, Carbery has again made five appearances in this triumph, including three as a starter compared to two seven years ago. 'We've got a very deep squad and some fantastic players, and I think Joey is absolutely deserving of his medal,' said McNamara. 'He's made a significant contribution and there's not that many Irish players who have two Champions Cup winners' medals,' said McNamara, adding that Carbery would have been in the 23 with a 5-3 split and will still have a big role to play this season. Bordeaux's Joey Carbery. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho UBB sit second in the Top 14, five points clear of Toulon, whom they face away next Sunday before hosting Vannes on Saturday week. Whatever happens, UBB will henceforth have one star on their claret or blue jerseys, but this doesn't feel like a one-off. 'One hundred per cent,' said McNamara. 'I said to the boys last week that win or lose, we chase the next opportunity on Monday regardless, and we've been very clear. This is not a destination, this is an important point on our journey. 'Getting over the line might manage to release us a little bit. We've got a fantastic opportunity in the Top 14 over the next few weeks. Toulon away next Sunday will be a big challenge for us to get everyone back down to ground but that's exactly what we want. 'We want to play in these games, we want these challenges, we want these privileges. It's not about getting to this point and saying it's fantastic,' said McNamara. 'There's absolutely no reason why we can't continue to go from strength and ultimately that's the objective. That's the goal of the club.'
